The End of it All
by Missa22
Summary: Draco has defected to the side of the Light. The "Golden Trio" has gotten into a fight, and now Draco, Blaise, and Hermione have a strange "Alliance" growing between them. What is going to happen with the "Spy Games" and what is Hermione going to do next?
1. The Begining of the End

This was the beginning of the end. She knew that. There was no changing it, no going back. She accepted that, embraced it even. No matter what happened, the world was going to change on this night, for better or worse depended on the battle before them.

She could only be thankful that she had the people that she loved most in the world standing beside her, ready to face the battle head on.

_Please, Merlin, allow us to come out of this alive. Please let us be the ones who win this showdown. The world has already had enough evil in it to last for eternity. The innocent don't need this evil visited upon them in the night as well. _

That was the prayer that she sent up on bated breathe as she drew her wand out of it's special pocket sewn into her jacket.

It had begun.


	2. The Begining

**Author's Note: Hey there everyone, I'm sorry that this has taken me such a long time to update, but I have had to deal with computer malfunctions, the loss of all my data on it, my fiancee leaving me for a 40 year old woman, and the loss of my job in the past few months. But I have made a vow to myself. This story wants to be written, so that is what I will do.**

**Please enjoy this chapter, I know it was hell for me to write till I had a moment that it just flowed like water from my fingers.**

**Eirini (Peace in greek), Missa**

**Disclamer: I do not own any of the characters, that joy belongs to J. K. Rowling. The plot is entirely mine though.**

* * *

It was the beginning of their seventh year, and it was a beautiful day outside of the train windows. Hermione sighed though. In all honesty, she felt that she and the others should be out fighting with the rest of the Order. It felt like they were letting the world down because they were able bodied adults at this point who were being sent off to school for their "protection".

She knew that Harry and Ron felt the same way, but there was little that they could do to change it. They had been all but cursed to go back to the school and finish out their final year before they would be allowed to join ranks with the other Order members.

The boys were rambling on in the background, with Ginny chiming in every once in a while from the shelter of Harry's arms. The two were all but inseparable now. Where one was, the other was sure to be nearby.

She was still fuming over her last conversation with Lupin. She had thought that if she reasoned with him that he would allow her at the very least, to help out in some way other that going back to the school that had really become both her home and prison, with the Order. But he had shut her down from the very start of the conversation.

He had said that she wasn't ready for the kinds of confrontations the Order members find themselves in often. That the Order needed Harry, Ron, and herself at Hogwarts finishing their last year right now. That all the Order needed at this moment was to know that they were all safe behind the walls that made her want to scream at the sight of them.

"Hermione."

She started. Looking over at Ron, who had called her name she clipped "What?"

Ron looked a little startled by her tone, and immediately Hermione felt horrible over it. It wasn't his fault that she was feeling so absolutely wretched about the situation, and she shouldn't have taken it out on him. "I'm sorry, Ron. I didn't mean to say it that way." She apologized.

That made Ron's face perk up a bit. "I was just asking if you wanted something from the trolley." he said, pointing outside of the compartment doors at the trolley that had arrived while she had been caught up in her own thoughts.

All she did was shake her head no and turned back to look outside of the train. At least this time she wasn't dwelling on something that she had no control over.

Hermione made herself think about everything that they would be going over this year in their classes. Advanced transfiguration, advanced potions, advanced charms, and defense against the dark arts made her core classes for the year. She intended to be well prepared for the day that she would be allowed to join the fight against Voldemort.

There was so much riding on this year. She could feel it, she just didn't know what it was yet. There was something in the air around her that made her wonder what this year was going to bring.

Hermione reported to the front compartment on the train to be briefed about her duties as Head Girl this year. She would also find out who had been selected as head boy, as she hadn't been told in her letter that announced that she would be Head Girl.

She was a little nervous about her new position, but didn't think that it would be to much different than being a Prefect the prior years.

She sat on one of the seats to wait for the others to come for the briefing. She was the first to arrive.

The compartment door opened, and in sauntered Draco. He didn't smirk at her or was nasty in any way, but that was more due to the fact that since he had defected to the Order the previous year and had spent the summer with the Weasley's.

She had spent the summer there as well, but they weren't friends per say, but they were no longer hostile to one another. Harry and Ron were still wary of Draco, but he hadn't done anything in the past few months to Hermione.

Hermione saw the pin on the front of his robes, and it turned out that he was the Head Boy for the year.

_Well, at the very least I won't have to worry about him using his authority the wrong way this year. He hasn't spoken to his house mates all summer._

"Congratulations on making Head Boy, it aught to make this year interesting." Hermione had been trying all summer to get some sort of reaction out of him.

But like any other time, he just nodded in her direction to let her know that he acknowledged what she had said, and sat in the front seat on the other side of the compartment from her. Hermione didn't think anything about it, she was just kind of glad that he was no longer calling her mud blood every other word.

The other Prefects starting filling in and sitting down, and the meeting was soon under way.

_Thank goodness this night is almost over. _Hermione was so tired that she was having a hard time keeping her eyes open as she walked down the corridor. She had been patrolling the dungeons, making sure that everything was going smoothly on the first night that everyone was back in school.

She had made this trip thousands of times in the past few years on her other patrols, but tonight had seemed to drag on forever. She had already had to deduct points from Slytherin and Hufflepuff for some fourth years that decided it would be funny to take some first years and get them lost in the bowels of the castle. She had expected it from the Slytherins, but not the Hufflepuffs.

As tired as she was, Hermione almost missed hearing the sounds of struggle coming from one of the empty classrooms as she passed it. Almost, but not quite.

Pulling out her wand, she whispered the spell to unlock the door when she tried it and found it locked. Opening the door slowly, Hermione peeking inside. It was Crabbe, Goyle, Zabini, and Parkinson. All four of them were circled around someone on the floor, laughing as they kicked whoever it was.

Hermione thought quickly. There weren't any teachers on this floor, at least not one that could get here quick enough, so this was all up to her. She ran a quick prayer, gripped her wand a little tighter, burst through the door and barked _Stupify!_ at the four of them.

All four had identical stunned looks on their faces as they fell to the ground. She rushed over to the body that was huddled on the ground. The person had their arms wrapped around their head in protection, so she had no idea who it was.

"Come on, we need to get you out of here and up to the hospital wing. Oh hold on." Hermione turned back to the group of Slytherins on the ground and fired a quick binding charm their way. "That aught to hold them till one of the teachers can get down here to collect them. Now, lets get you up and on your feet, need to make sure that they didn't break anything." Hermione gently pulled on their arms to try and help them up.

Platinum hair was revealed as Draco sat up. Hermione didn't allow herself to react to the fact that his own former friends were beating him. He did look terrible though. His nose was bloody, and a little offset, obviously broken, with a split lip and several cuts around his eyes that were all bleeding freely.

"Come on Malfoy, lets get you out of here. Blast it, the floor is cold." She kept tugging on his arm and he rose to stand over her.

"Don't want to go to the hospital wing, just want to go and lay down." Malfoy swayed and Hermione was glad that she still had a grip on his arm to keep him from falling over.

"Oh, bugger, you had better come to the hospital wing, I think that they may have kicked you hard enough to give you a concussion. That and your nose is broken." If anything would get him to the hospital wing, his own vanity would. It would have worked in the past.

Only this time, it didn't. Malfoy shook his head and tried to pull away from her hold, only to sway and almost fall again. Hermione had finally had enough stubbornness. She had to deal with Harry and Ron on a daily basis.

She decided to take matters into her own hands and stunned him. Then used a simple moving spell so that she could get him the help that he really did need. Hermione was too tired to deal with yet another stubborn male, and her patience had been tested beyond endurance today.

She continued to move along the corridors and stairways till she reached the hospital wing, once there she gently lowered him onto one of the beds. It was getting late, and she was tempted to lay on one of the beds next to him, but she shook off her exhaustion and went to find Madame Pomfrey.

It would do him no use for her to fall asleep and leave him injured.

Hermione found Pomfrey, and the medi-witch came running as soon as Hermione explained why she was there.

"Hermione, be a dear and grab the purple potion out of the cabinet to your left, it should be on the top shelf. " Pomfrey was looking at Draco and didn't even stop long enough for Hermione to try and see if she could head to her own rooms.

Hermione just sighed and did as she was asked. It seemed that she would be here until Draco was healed.

Handing the potion over, she got a good look at all of Draco's injuries. They were vast. His nose was broken, he had several cuts over his face, it looked like his left arm was broken, his right shoulder dislocated, and his right leg broken in three places. To be frank, he was a mess.

Hermione's heart went out to him. He had been through so much already. She let her mind trail back to when he first showed up at the Weasley's front door in the middle of summer.

_A few months earlier:_

_He had been a mess. Everyone had been so surprised about who had shown up that at first nothing was said. _

_Then Lupin, who was ever the voice of logic, had pulled Draco inside quickly and set him in the kitchen. After that, the house went bonkers. _

_There was yelling, screaming, items thrown, and curses yelled. _

_All the while, Draco just sat there shaking, not saying anything, not looking at anyone. _

_At Lupin's insistence, Draco handed over his wand, and downed a portion of Veritiserum. And while everyone sat around the kitchen, on mismatched chairs or wherever they could find a perch. _

_Molly asked the question that everyone had on their mind. "Why are you here?"_

_Draco shuddered and drew in a breath. He looked nothing like he had before, at least in her mind._

"_They," he croaked. He tried to clear his thought and someone put a butterbeer in front of him. Draco nodded his thanks and took a drink. He began again. "The killed my mother last night. She had never done anything to anyone but they tortured her for hours before they made my father kill her. And it wasn't a quick death. Voldemort made him kill her with his bare hands. _

"_I've known for a while that what those people are doing is wrong. They should all rot in the very depths of hell for the crimes that they have committed, but I stayed there with them because of Mother. She was so kind, everyone always told her that she didn't have what it took to be a Malfoy, but she didn't care. _

"_I tried to protect her, that's why I stayed. But when it came down to it, I was powerless to stop them from hurting her. Voldemort had the others hold me down as they beat her. He had the men rape her in front of me. Then he had Lucius strangle her when they were all done." He paused to take another drink of his butterbeer with a haunted look in his eyes. _

_He continued after a moment. "That's when Voldemort told me that I had to follow him or meet a similar fate as my mother. He laughed and had Lucius beat me further into what he thought was submission. From there, they tossed me into some unused room in the manor, and as soon as I had a chance, I escaped. _

"_I didn't know where else to go, but I figured that this would be the place to find the Order. I want to make Voldemort and the others pay for what they did to her, to make them pay for every life that they have had a hand in ruining. They need to be brought down." The entire time that he had been talking, Draco had been crying silent tears. _

_Everyone was silent. This wasn't the first time that they had heard some horrible story, but with the way that Draco was showing what he felt, when he was normally so contained was not something they saw everyday._

_Ron was the first to say anything. "How do we know that he isn't here in order to destroy us or betray the order to the Dark Lord? He's a limey git! We can't believe anything that he says!" Ron was on his feet at that point. Waving his arms as he ranted. _

"_Ronald! He is under the compulsion of Veritiserum, there is no way that he could lie to us under the compulsion of the potion!" Hermione surprised herself and everyone else with her vehement outburst. _

Hermione paused in her memories of that night. What followed had been outright chaos.


	3. The Mission

**Hi there everyone! **

**Again, I'm sorry for how long it's been between updating, but life and the Fate's like to take matters out of my hands. Anyways, I hope that you enjoy this chapter and I'll try to get the next chapter up soon. **

**Grá agus i gcónaí go deo! (Love forever and always! in Gaelic)**

**Missa**

* * *

Once they had Draco settled in for the evening, Madame Pomfrey had Hermione sit down so that she could get some of the professors in order to report what had happened.

Madame Pomfrey knew that this was a sensitive situation, so she was only going to get McGonagal.

Hermione gladly took a seat and rested her head against the wall to her right side. She was so damn weary after this hell of a night. She almost couldn't believe how hurt Draco was. It was worse than that night that he had shown up at the Weasley's, and Hermione was absolutely stunned at the damage that those four loons had done to him.

Suddenly, Hermione was being shaken awake by McGonagal. She started, "Oh, I'm sorry professor. I didn't mean to nod off like that, it's just been such a long night." She rubbed her eyes with the back of a hand to get the grit out of them. She couldn't have been asleep more than a few moments, and she was wishing that she were in her own bed at that moment.

"It's alright, Miss Granger. I know that it has been a long night, and it seems that it will be a longer night still. Madame Pomfrey told me everything that she knew about this, now all I need is to hear how you found Mr. Malfoy in this state." The professor's kind, but stern, eyes lit upon the still form on the bed next to where Hermione was sitting.

Hermione cleared her thought, she knew that she had to be very detailed, but she couldn't get the sight of Draco, broken and bleeding on the floor of that classroom out of her mind. He didn't want the professors to know what had happened, and she could only guess as to why.

In the end, the choice was hers to tell the professors what had happened or not.

If she decided that all she had to tell them that she had just found him like that, she could go and release the others and keep everything quiet, like Draco seemed to want to.

Or she could tell the professor everything and come up with some plan in order to keep Draco safe.

There was also a third option. Tell McGonagal everything that she had witnessed, and leave it at that. Let the professors make their own decision about the situation.

But that third option just seemed wrong. She couldn't let Draco go through this alone, not after everything else that he had been through.

So, Hermione went with option number two. She told the professor everything that she had seen, let her know that the four perpetrators were still immobilized in the dungeon classroom.

At the end of the tale, she was so weary that it was hard for her to keep her eyes open.

It seemed that Professor McGonagal took pity on her, and said "Hermione, why don't you stay here tonight, to make sure that nothing else unexpected happens to Mr. Malfoy, and that way in the morning we can come up with some sort of plan in order to salvage this situation somehow.

"I know Alastor had some hope that Mr. Malfoy would be able to get some information out of his former, ahem, friends, but it doesn't look like he will be able to do that now.

"Just watch and make sure nothing else happens, and get some rest, Miss Granger." McGonagal made her way out of the hospital wing with Pomfrey close at her heels, not even waiting for a reply from Hermione.

"Bugger, all I wanted to do was go back to my own bed to sleep. And now here I am playing guard for your arse." Hermione muttered to the still unconscious Draco.

With a sigh, she went to the bed closest to his and lay down. It didn't take long for her to fall asleep herself.

_The next morning:_

"Bloody buggering hell!"

The vehement outburst in a rough voice was enough to drag Hermione out of her blissful dreams.

"What the hell am I doing in the hospital wing!" There was a thud as a body hit the floor.

Hermione wanted to keep her eyes closed for a little while longer, she was so damn tired. But the sound of a male voice groaning in pain soon broke through her wishes. With a sigh she sat up and rubbed the sleep from her eyes.

Draco was still lying on the floor where he had fallen, looking very sullen with a rather attractive pout marring his features.

_Girl, get your thoughts in order right this instant! You can't be thinking of him that way!_ Hermione shook her head as she mentally berated herself for that lapse in self control.

As she got off the bed that she had slept the night in, Hermione said "Your in the Hospital Wing because your former cronies decided that it would be a good idea to use you for a punching bag and target practice." Her tone was rather acerbic and she noticed how Draco flinched.

"I found you and thought that it would be a good idea to bring you here because you were almost two steps away from being mangled for the rest of your life with the way they broke some of your bones. I figured that with your vanity you might appreciate some immediate attention so you wouldn't look like a troll."

Her pointed comments seem to break through this haze that Draco must have had, and he cried out in anger as he remembered everything that had been done to him.

Hermione wasted no time while he was distracted in helping him get back into bed, forcing herself to ignore the fact that he was shirtless.

Sure, they weren't enemies anymore, but he hadn't been precisely sociable in the past few months.

But it was hard to not notice all those muscles and his strong arms, especially when one of her hands lingered a moment too long. She hastily pulled it back, hoping that he didn't notice her almost caress.

It seems that he hadn't, for he continued to curse and growl under his breathe.

"Bloody buggering imbeciles. They never did know when to time their fucking attacks." Draco continued to mumble, but Hermione just ignored him and went back to lay down in her bed to try and get a few more minutes of sleep. It was going to be a long day. Thank Merlin that it was Saturday and they wouldn't have any classes.

"Hey, Granger!"

Hermoine just groaned and pulled a pillow over her head to try and muffle his voice. It didn't work because he had somehow gotten out of his bed again and ripped it out of her hands.

"What! What the bloody fuck do you want Malfoy?" Hermione just wanted to go back to sleep and rest for a little while longer, but it seemed that was not to be.

"What am I supposed to say to the Professors about this. What did you tell them? I need to know so that my storry goes along with yours." His steel grey eyes bored into her own honey coloured orbs.

"I told the truth Malfoy. I just told them what I had observed and who was down in the dungeons, but that's all. I don't know anything else of the situation to tell, and I made sure they understood that. Now, can I go back to sleep now?" Without even waiting for him to answer she snatched the pillow out of his hands and turned so that her back was to him and promptly went to sleep.

Draco Malfo stood there dumbfounded. He never knew that Granger was cranky in the mornings. Frankly, it was frightening. She was so perky whenever he saw her the rest of the time, and he had never seen her like this. Not even when she was angry. The look that she had given him as she took the pillow back might have flayed the skin off of him if that were possible.

Shaking his head to clear his thoughts, he went and sat on the bed he had woken in earlier. He slouched forward and rested his forehead in his palms to try and make sense of what he needed to do now.

He had thought that his "friends" would just leave him alone this year, but he had been proven wrong before, and now it seemed that the Fates were enjoying the game they were playing with his life.

He knew as soon as he had escaped the mansion, that there would be a price on his head. He simply knew to much about Voldemort's operation. He didn't care about it though. _The only thing I care about it that Herm- no damnit, she's Granger to you, that Granger could have been hurt if she weren't so good a witch. Bloody hell, if it had been anyone else, they would have killed them._

Draco sat there for a while longer debating on what his next steps would be. Obviously he wouldn't be able to return to the Slytherin common room. He really needed to talk to Professor McGonagal and see what they could do.

Almost as if she had been summoned by his thoughts, the professor walked into the room.

_Speak, or think in this case, of the Devil and He shall apear._ It had been a while since Draco had thought of the Muggle exspression, but he felt it was very appropriate in this situation.

"Well, Mr. Malfoy. I'm pleased to see that you are feeling much better, and looking better I might add, than last night. Now, Miss Granger has informed me of what she witnessed and we do have the four who attacked you, but I understand that the current situation is . . . . delicate to put it frankly. I was hoping that you might be able to give us some insight as to what should be done with them." She sat next to him on the bed and tried to comfort him. Minerva may not admit it to anyone but herself, but she actually enjoyed teaching Draco. Besides Hermione, he was the quickest to pick something up and do it correctly. _He is a very bright young man that has done some very wrong things for the right reasons. He's just another victim in this war and he would be the one to see into the hearts of these young death eaters._

Draco thought for a moment, replaying everything that had happened last night over in his head. There had been something in Zabini's eyes, almost like an apology for having to do this. Draco tried to remember something else about Zabini. They were always close as having been tossed together at social functions by their parents.

Suddenly it became clear.

"Blaise has a fiancee in Italy that Voldemort's people are keeping in their custody to keep him and his family compliant. If I were to talk to him, and maybe we could have the order rescue her, we would be able to get the entire Zabini clan to join the order. That was something that Zabini and I had in common. It created a bond, and then a kinship between us. She's a muggle who's cousin is a witch, so she knows everything about our world. Is there any way that we can talk to him in private?" Draco was almost vibrating with excitement at thinking of the possibilities. This was what he was good at. He had connections and knew people's secrets.

_If we can break up His ranks by taking first the ones that He is black mailing and getting them to join us, then work at weeding out the others that are totally supportive of Him, we might just stand a chance at this._ McGonagal thought to herself.

To Draco she said "We most certainly can, Mr. Malfoy. Now, there is another matter that we need to discuss. I understand that it will not be safe for you to go back to your old common room and dorm room at this point, and even if Mr. Zabini does join us, I have a mission for him in mind if he is willing to accept it. Anyways, a thought occured to me last night as I was speaking with Miss Granger. And even now, with your knowlege of the people in Voldemort's ranks, you are going to need some place safe and secret to operate out of. I understand that Lupin explained to you what your mission would be?"

Draco nodded. He had been breifed about the plan for him to gather information about the people that were being blackmailed into supporting Voldemort and then pass that information to McGonagal and to the Order.

"Well, a simple solution is that there is a set of rooms connected to a common room that have long since been vacant. You see, it was once customary for the Head Boy and the Head Girl and all of the prefects to be housed in these rooms, and we can open them up once again for that purpose. Of course, Miss Granger and several of the prefects to also be moved into these rooms so that suspicions not be raised. What I thought we could do is take the prefects that are loyal to the Order that are in the same year as yourself and move them into these rooms along with you and Miss Granger and set them up for the dual purpose of your sanctuary and base of operations. We would also be able to use the Room of Requiement for training purposes for those loyal wanting to learn more offensive and deffensive spells, charms, and curses. I thought that since you know the Death Eater's tactics and Mr. Potter has been battle tested that you two might be able to, with the aid of several professors, train these young men and women."

Draco was slightly stunned. This plan was brilliant. He wanted to make a difference in this war, and here was an opportunity being handed to him on a silver platter. When he said as much to the headmistress, she chuckled.

"I know that you all want to help, and this seems the best way to do it until you can join us as full members of the Order. One can never be too prepared for what we will all soon be forced to endure. Now, about the other's that were with Mr. Zabini last night, what do you think we should do with them?"

Draco pondered that for a moment. "Let them go. Let them think that I didn't say abything about what happened, and that Granger said nothing as well. They are a prideful lot and let's see if we can't make it so that their pride is their own downfall. Also, we might be able to talk to them about what is driving them to join Voldemort and see if we can't change their situation and make them understand that what he is doing is wrong. This war won't end if we defeat Voldemort only to find that someone among his followers takes his place. We need to convince as many of his followers to defect as I have done as we can."

Minerva internaly grined with pride for Draco.

"That's a good plan Malfoy." Hermione's voice startled the Headmistress and Draco. "Sorry, but you both woke me up with your conversation. That's a perfect way to go about this. Start to weaken the support lines in His organization and pretty soon it will start to crumble, making it easier to defeat him and building our own ranks at the same time." Hermione sat up on her bed and turned to face them.

"Well, Miss Granger, I'm glad that you approve of this plan. It's going to be hard to gather all the information that we need on these people, and I know that with your help that it will be a bit easier to accomplish. Hopefully we can get Mr. Zabini and Mr. Potter to agree as well. Now, let me go and get Mr. Zabini and bring him here. Also, I'll let the others go back to their common room as we have planned. I'll be back shortly, I want the two of you to eat." With a wave of her wand, Minerva summoned Dobby, the house elf to see to breakfest for these young people.

Leaving them in the elve's capapable hands, she went to get Mr. Zabini and bring him back to the hospital wing.


	4. The Ally

**Hi! **

**This is the newest chapter of the End of it All, and I hope you enjoy it! I do have to note though this is sort of a filler chapter, and I do apologize for that, but some of the loose ends needed to be tied up before I could move on to the more juicy parts of this story.**

**Anyways, please enjoy, and when your done reading this chapter, feel free to hit that little blue text at the bottom of the screen and leave a review. I would really appreciate it.**

**Thank you,**

**Missa**

* * *

After Dobby had brought them food and they had eaten, Hermione and Draco talked of the people that Draco knew were being blackmailed into service. It seemed that most of the people in Voldemort's ranks weren't there willingly.

Hermione was stunned at the information. She thought that all of the Purebloods wanted Voldemort to rule the world. But it seemed that even they had felt that this war had gone on long enough.

Draco told her that Voldemort had been forced to put down several mutinies and put several families to death.

It was horrible. How could anyone follow that monster. She could understand the ones that were forced into servitude by trying to protect a loved one, but the ones who served him willingly? They were just a bad as the one who led them.

When she voiced that sentiment, Draco chuckled darkly.

"I know. You remember who my father and aunt are, right? Those two are some of the cruelest beings on this planet, besides Him, I mean. And there are others like that. The elder Crabbe and Goyle, their cruel bastards. Pansy's father is much of the same." He looked her straight in the eyes. "Make no mistake about it, Granger, most of the people close to the top are the ones that fully support Him. That's why they are the ones at the top."

Hermione thought that information over for some time, allowing Draco's own thoughts to wander. Who else could he talk to? Who else could he draw out of the ranks? If Blaise joined him and the others, maybe he would have more of an idea. He had spent more time with their dorm-mates than he had. He knew their situations better.

Draco just hoped that the Order would be able to save Blaise's fiancée. He didn't really know much about her, aside from the fact that she was a muggle, but he knew that no one deserved to have done to them what they had done to his mother.

He could still hear her screams, begging them to stop, not for her own sake, but so that he wouldn't have to see what they were doing to her. She never once begged for herself. Just for him, and he felt guilty as hell for not being able to do something about it.

That guilt was eating him up inside, day after day, hour after hour. There was no reprieve from it. No shelter in the storm.

At least, until he looked into her eyes. Those golden orbs that seemed to burn their way into his very soul where the only things that gave him any sense of peace. Sometimes all he had to do was think about those eyes, and everything that went with them and he was calmed.

And Hermione had no idea about any of it. She never would if he had anything to say about it. He knew that the others were still wary of him, and knew that if he ever tried to pursue anything with her, the would be one him like a hippogriff on a steak.

So it was just safer for them all if he kept their association to a minimum, as much as he hated to. But as long as they kept just a friendship, he would take what he could get.

"So, what do we do now?" Her question broke through his thoughts.

"We wait for the Professor to get back with Zabini. I think that once we lay out the plan to him, he'll be quick to agree. I know that if I were him, I would do anything to get the ones I loved out of harms way." His voice cracked and he cleared his throat. He had tried to get his mother to leave when she had a chance, but she wouldn't leave without him, and they both had known that he had to stay with the rest of them because of the "mission" he had been given.

At that moment, they heard the doors open, and in walked the two people they had been talking about.

"I bet their ears were burning." Draco muttered under his breathe.

Hermione gave him an odd look that told him that she had heard him and wondered about his use of the muggle superstition.

It wasn't common knowledge, but Draco had learned much about muggles over the years, far more than most wizards or witches in this age had thought necessary.

"Well, I have explained to Mr. Zabini the plan that you came up with, Mr. Malfoy, and he has agreed that he will join us. I thought that maybe the two of you would like to speak about any plans or ideas about what you'll be doing for the rest of the year. As for the others that I had detained, they have been released like you asked, and told that nothing would be done against them for this. Now, if you'll excuse me, I'd like to inform the Order about this new development and get them started on rescuing Mr. Zabini's fiancée." With nothing else to add, Professor McGonagal turned with a rustling of the fabric of her robes and as quickly as she had entered, left once more.

The other three students where left staring as the Professor left a veritable vapor trail in her haste to get out of the room.

Hermione had to chuckle at that image, seems that she had read one too many muggle science fiction novels when she was younger.

Draco was wondering what had Hermione chuckling when Blaise looked him dead in the eye with such a repentant look.

"It's ok, mate. I know that you were just trying to protect her by making the others think that you were one of them. I don't blame you. Hell, I'd have done the same thing myself." Draco took pity on the prideful Italian and absolved him of any regret he had without making him apologize for any of it.

Zabini gave him a grateful look and pulled a chair in between the two beds that Hermione and Draco where on. The other two turned so that they could all face one another and talk.

"Thank you, mate, for doing this for me. I love Angelina more than anything in this world, and the thought that at any moment His lackeys could kill her has been tearing me up inside. I just wish that there was more that I could do to protect her!" Blaise hung his head out of shame from not being able to protect the ones that he loved.

Draco understood this feeling all to well.


	5. Spy Games

**Hello once again dear readers,**

**This chapter is something that I struggled with all week, and it took me reading a book about spy craft in order to find my muse about where to go now.**

**I'm sorry, but this one doesn't have much in the way of Hermione/Draco romance, but this is a subtle romance. This has to be built upon a foundation of an undercurrent. Subtle and pulling, until your swept away and you never really know you were being pulled into it. **

**Thank you so much for you continued support. This is very much my favorite project at this point, and even I was surprised at the path this has taken. Much like a favorite niece or nephew showing interest in something that you take great enjoyment in. **

**Well, please enjoy and please, please, please review.**

**Missa**

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**Diclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or any of the characters. The plot is my brain-child.**

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"So, what do we do know?" Hermione broke the silence after Draco had forgiven Blaise of his acts.

"We need to get the others and discuss 'Battle Tactics' with them. We need a plan of action before we move forward. Without a plan, we are blind. We need to see where everyone's loyalties lie in this school. From there we can see who we can turn to our side if they aren't already there. Some we may be able to bribe, others rescue of loved ones that are being held, and still others just need to be convinced." This came from Blaise.

Hermione was stunned. He had hit the nail strait on the head, so to speak. "You gentlemen know more about your house than I do, but I do know that all of the Gryffindors and many of the Hufflepuffs are already supporters of the Order, even if they don't know what the Order truly is or who is in it. They just don't support Him and want to do away with him. So tell me, who do you think we would be able to recruit from Slytherin?"

The two young men took a minute to ponder the possibilities. Draco was the first to speak. "Millicent Bulstrode. Yes she is a Slytherin, but she has never truly been overly cruel to anyone. At least, not that I've seen. She would make a good ally. She has a talent for healing magic and for herbology, much like your friend Neville Longbottom. With the two of them in our ranks, if they continued to study that chosen path and if there were a serious battle, they would make good field medics. You never want just one field medic in any battle in case something happens to them."

"There's also Astoria Greengrass and her sister. You know mate, Astoria has always had a soft spot for you, and I think that you would be the best one to approach the two of them. Didn't your families often spend holidays at the same resort in France? I've never seen two girls better at gathering information than those two. Seems that if we recruit them they could report others who are fed up with this whole 'War' and we could approach them. And they also know many people who aren't in Hogwarts as well." This came from Blaise.

"This is a good start. Of course, we need to wait until we have our base of operations in the Prefect's Common Room set up before we approach these people." Hermione said as she watched the two men still considering their options. She was quite impressed. She had no idea that Millicent was studying the same subjects as Neville. And they were right, they truly did need more than just one medic if there were going to be open battles, which was a strong possibility. This was a good start.

"Blaise, will you be joining us when Draco and I move to the Prefect's rooms?" Hermione asked curiously.

He shook his head and said, "No, since the others don't yet know of my shift in sympathies I thought that I could act as sort of a 'double agent' until it all came out. I don't expect that the other Slytherins will be blind to my actions forever, but for as long as they are I'm more valuable to gather information and try to make new alliances there in the common rooms. Once word gets out though, you can expect me to join you. I fear that when you cross a Slytherin, they tend not to forget it for some time.

"I'd feel better if you had someone watching you back, Mate. You know those three as well as I do, and you know that they are willing participants to His cause. More than likely they will try something again, and soon if I'm any judge. You need to be very careful." Blaise looked right at Draco as if he wished he could be the one guarding his back.

Hermione noticed this look and wondered just how deep their friendship went if Draco was able to just brush off what Blaise had participated in the night before. There was a certain . . . . Brotherhood to them.

She wasn't sure that was the correct term for what she saw pass between them, but it was as close as she could get at the moment. She would have to observe them for a while longer to be sure of what it was.

But one thing was certain. These two would definitely be instrumental in the end of Voldemort. Hermione was glad that they were on her side, and the side of the Order. She had a feeling that if they had decided to, they very well could have taken over the world if that was what they wanted.

From what she could see, they had been raised from the cradle to lead their own 'troops' and they had been trained well in battle tactics.

They continued to discuss different strategies about who and how to recruit, until the noon bell rang for lunch.

It was then that Harry and Ron decided to make their way to the Hospital Wing to see why Draco and Hermione were still there.

Madame Pomfrey had looked Draco over and decided that he still needed bed rest to complete the healing process, and knowing what the other Slytherins would do if they found him alone, Blaise and Hermione had reached a silent agreement that She would stay with him in case trouble decided to visit.

It just wasn't feasible for Blaise to stay and guard Draco's back as he needed to keep his cover for as long as possible. Staying with Draco and protecting him at this time, as much as he wanted to, would blow his cover; the three of them knew this.

Harry and Ron both didn't like the thought of Hermione staying with Draco alone again, and they voiced the opinion loudly as was expected of them.

They did give way to reason though, once Hermione explained the logic to them. They still didn't like it though.

_Over-protective fools. Don't they understand that Draco at this point is a great asset that needs all the protection that we can give him? He knows so much about the inner workings of Voldemort's group and who could possibly be convinced to switch sides with the right leverage. This is a brilliant plan and those two only see that he is still a Slytherin not to be trusted. Fools._ Hermione thought to herself with contempt for them.

They were like older brothers that didn't want the little sister to date because she was to stay "pure". Ballocks. They had to realize sometime that she was a clever witch more than capable of caring for herself and others.

Look at all of the scrapes that she had gotten them out of throughout the years! She was the veritable "brains" of their group, and they still insisted that she needed to be protected.

_Men. They look at a woman and think she's weak just because they don't have the same "equipment" that they do. What they don't realize is that a woman can be far more deadly than any man, and far more devious._

She wondered idly if it was just Gryffindor men that thought this way, or if it was men in general.

Soon after Harry and Ron joined them, and yelled their heads off about the plan for that evening Dobby popped in again. This time with lunch for the five of the young adults.

Of course, once Ron saw the food he immediately started to shovel it in as fast as he could, acting as if he hadn't eaten in days. It had always astounded Hermione that he could eat so much.

While Ron was occupied, Draco and Hermione explained the general plan from the Prefect's Common room to the Room of Requirement and "battle lessons", and finally the "spy games", as Hermione had termed what Blaise and Draco would do.

Harry's eyes had widened by the time she had finished explaining the whole thing to him. "This _is _bloody brilliant. Why hadn't we thought of doing something like this sooner? Get people inside the organization that Voldemort has set up and tear apart from the inside?"

Hermione smiled sadly. "The Order tried, several times. The only operative that knew anything of worth was Professor Snape, and even he didn't know much. He still reports what he can, but Lupin believes that Voldemort suspects him. What the Order never considered was using the younger generation. At least, not until Malfoy showed up on our doorstep. And now we are just going to take it a step farther. We _are_ going to make a difference in this war, one way or another."

Draco nodded at what Hermione had said. He couldn't have put it better himself.


	6. The Terror

**Hello once again. **

**This is the newest installation of _"The End of it All"_ and I hope that you enjoy it. **

**This one took some work and I deleted everything at one point and started all over again when I didn't like the way this chapter had turned out. But I am happy with this as it is now, and hope that you all will do me the favor of REVEIWING it when your done. **

**Thank you all for your continued support and thank you for reading. **

**Si prega di godere! (Please enjoy!-In Italian)**

**Missa**

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"I still don't like the idea of Hermione being involved in this plan. She would be far too vulnerable without me or Ron there to look out for her." Harry's voice was slightly fanatical. "We have no way of knowing if your truly with us, or if your playing some kind of game. Knowing you, it would be the latter.

"I know that we have to do everything as you say it, Malfoy," Harry said with much venom in his tone, "I don't like this plan. I realize that with your _experience, _you know the enemy the best. But if you think that for one minute that I'm going to let my guard down around you, you can think again.

"I wasn't impressed with your so-called 'Change of Heart' and I think it's still a load of shit. You need to watch yourself, because if you think for one minute that if you hurt 'Mione, that we wouldn't hesitate to hurt you, watch yourself."

Hermione sat there, her mouth agape as Harry rose up to his full height and stood over Draco as if trying to assert his dominance like some sort of Neanderthal.

She knew that Harry and Ron cared about her, but this was taking it to far. She had to speak up.

"For Merlin's sake, Harry!" Her voice was shrill with surprise and anger. "I'm a grown woman who can take care of myself. If you think that for one nano-second that I'm going to allow you to 'protect me for my own sake', _You had best think again_. I'm not some simpering flower that is going to wilt of the wind blows the wrong way, _Harry James Potter_." Harry flinched at the use of his full name as Hermione continued her tirade.

"_And YOU! Ronald Bilius Weasley! You are just as bad as Mr. Potter._ Thinking that I can't take care of myself when I've gotten you and Mr. Potter out of more situations than I care to even _think_ of." Ron had started to slink his way to the doors, trying to escape Hermione's notice. Now both Harry and Ron were flinching as Hermione's voice continued to rise until she was almost screaming at the two of them.

Draco watched this all, stunned. He had quickly cast a spell to keep the sounds inside this room from escaping when Hermione had started in on Harry. Now that she was yelling at both of the idiots, in his opinion, it was clear that they had been treating her like some_thing_, not some_one._

_Fools, _he thought contemptuously as Hermione continued.

"I cant believe the two of you! _I CAN TAKE CARE OF MYSELF!_ I don't need the two of you to 'watch out for me and _protect_ me'. I honestly thought that you would _grow out of it_, but it seems that I was _wrong_. Well, here is your wake up call, my boys.' Her voice had become frighteningly calm. _"_If you don't start treating me like someone who actually has a mind and can think for _HERSELF,_ then I suggest that you get as far away from me as possible, because I swear to you that if you don't do as I say, you will see a side of me that will make you piss yourselves in terror. Now, I suggest that you leave right now and not talk to me for a few hours; lest I be tempted to curse you into oblivion."

Potter and Weasley did look like they were about to wet themselves, and quickly got up and left the room as soon as Hermione had dismissed them.

Draco and Blaise each looked at one another with a little fear and great respect for Hermione in their eyes. She was scarier than many of the girls in Slytherin.

Neither of them had ever guessed that she could say that to the two morons that had been her friends for so long. It was almost astounding.

Blaise looked like he was about to say something to Hermione, but catching the look that she had in her eyes at just that moment, Draco shook his head in warning at Blaise.

This just wasn't the time to say anything. Hermione would need a few minutes to calm and collect herself, and he was afraid that if he and Blaise so much as moved a way she didn't like they would soon find themselves the objects of her fury.

Draco was a creature of self preservation. Always had been, always would be. He knew that sometimes it was better to hide and sneak instead of confront and battle. This was one of the times to hide and sneak. At least it would be until Hermione calmed down.

Hermione took a few calming breathes as she tried to get herself under control. She knew that what she had said to Harry and Ron needed to be said, but she felt bad for loosing control that way. She would have to apologize to them in a couple of days.

If they let her, that is. _"Merlin, this whole thing is a mess. I have to muddle my way through it though."_ She thought to herself.

She continued to get her thoughts and emotions in order, and she was very aware of the fact that Malfoy and Zabini were staring at her like she was some crazed lunatic. That really didn't surprise her. She had acted like some crazed lunatic.

"_I wonder if they even know the story behind the word 'Lunatic'"_ That random thought made her giggle aloud. _"Get a grip, Hermione! This isn't the time to start going to pieces over the word 'Lunatic', even if it actually refers to Lycanthropes or people who thought they were Lycanthropes."_ Even still, she giggled all the harder.

Draco didn't know what to do. Hermione had looked almost herself when she started to giggle madly, almost like his crazy Aunt Bellatrix. This couldn't be good.

"Hermione, is there some joke that you'd like to share with us?" Blaise looked at Draco and shrugged as if to say _"We have to say something, Mate. Might as well be this."_

That seemed to break Hermione out of her maddened giggling. She looked Blaise dead in the eyes and said "I was contemplating the origins of the word 'Lunatic', if you must know." Her voice was clear and sober, no trace of the angry, or even mad woman she had been just moments before.

"_All of these mood changes are going to make us all dizzy if she doesn't get herself in order." _Was Draco's thought. But he truly didn't mind Hermione's outbursts. He had thought for years that she was entirely too self contained.

Oh, there had been a few moments where she had let her inner self, the fiery, passionate, and obstinate woman she truly was out. Like the time she had smacked him and called him a filthy ferret. But those times were few and far between. Almost as if she didn't want anyone to know the real her.

Only, he really did want to know who was behind that cold and intellectual façade.

Blaise and Hermione had began to debate the origins of "Lunatic", and for the time being, that was a safe subject while Hermione brought herself to order.

Draco just watched her.

He had always felt that they were similar. And now he was sure of it. He hid himself behind a mask that his father built in order to preserve the _Great Malfoy Name_ and she had built her own mask to hide herself behind for whatever reason.

Oh yes, she laughed and looked to have a good time with her friends; but there was always something that Draco noticed, something just beneath the surface that seemed to him to be her true self.

He wanted to know who her true self was. And to see if she would accept him for who he really was.

Draco subtly studied Hermione while she debated with Blaise.

Her long, chestnut hair was a tangled mess. But he liked the way it looked. Sleep tousled and all around. Not the contained waives that she styled her curls into nowadays.

She had slept in her uniform, same as he, and it was wrinkled and far from presentable. Sometime she had managed to make the bed she had slept in without him noticing, and she sat perched on the end of it while talking with her hands as she was known to do.

Before, Draco always thought that she looked like a bird to flap away when she talked with her hands, but now he enjoyed watching her move. She was so graceful with the way she moved her hands to demonstrate something or to make a point. He felt like he could watch her all day.

It was then that he noticed that the other two were looking at him expectantly. _"Bloody hell, they must have asked me a question while I was staring at her like a loon. Dammit all to hell."_ he thought quietly to himself, to them he said, "Sorry, I was lost in my own thoughts, what was that again.?"

He had his father to thank for that save. Lucius had made sure that Draco was a master of deception and in giving nothing away. Not even his very own thoughts.

"What I said, Mate, was that maybe we should move this to the other rooms that we spoke about. This place isn't all that private and surely what we need to discuss shouldn't be said here." Blaise looked at Draco in such a way that told Draco he knew what he had been thinking.

Internally, Draco shrugged. Blaise had been taught the same things that he had, so it only made sense that he would know what Draco just did. "Your right, Zabini. Problem is, that none of us know how to get to said rooms."

At that moment, all three of them heard the unmistakable crack of an elf's apparation.

It was Dobby.


	7. The Plan

Hello everyone! Just wanted to post this piece today, and to apologize for the hiatus that I was under. I know that I should have popped in to explain everything, but I've been crazy busy with everything. So I hope that you all enjoy this!

Missa

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"If you'd all follow Dobby, Dobby will lead you to the rooms that Headmistress McGonagal has had opened for you." Dobby told them.

Draco looked at Hermione and shrugged at her amazed look. He was long used to the little seemingly random occurrences of his world. If you lived in the wizarding world long enough, the random parts of life no longer seemed so random anymore.

Dobby led the way as the other three followed like sheep being herded to better grazing land, and silently Draco chuckled at the image.

After going up two flights of stairs and down three more, Dobby halted in front of an old, rusty suit of armor that was missing an arm. Draco had never noticed it before when he had come down this particular corridor, but couldn't understand how he had missed it before.

"The pass word is 'United'" Dobby said and dis-apparated with a crack.

The three of them stood there, just staring at the armor, when Blaise finally took matters into his own hands and muttered the password. They watched as the armor saluted them with it's remaining arm, and stepped to the side to reveal a modest looking door.

It was one of those doors that one would assume to be the entrance to a broom closet or something of the like, but as they entered through it, Hermione stopped with stunned disbelief.

The room, or rather the suite, was striking.

Done in neutral tones of tan and gold, it was well appointed. There were several tables and comfortable looking wingback chairs and just seemed to welcome you to sit in one of them with a good book in front of the fire that was burning merrily in the over large fireplace.

Blaise and Draco didn't seem to notice any of it, but then they were more used to such comfort in their own homes. Nothing second rate for those two.

Blaise sat on the over stuffed couch while Hermione continued to stand there and as Draco explored his new domain.

Draco examined each and every room in the suite, noting with satisfaction that there were several bed chambers decorated in his House colors. In fact, it seemed that there were about three to four bed chambers done in each of the different House's colors.

That made sense to him, have the main living area done up unbiased so as to promote peace between the House's, but still allow the Prefect's some ties to the House they represented. Make them feel like they weren't betraying the people they were setting an example for.

By the time he was back in the common room, Hermione had moved from her spot near the door to a place near the fireplace to examine the carvings on the mantle.

"It's all so beautiful, isn't it?" She whispered when she noticed him.

Draco snorted. He had seen better, but he could imagine how this would be so much for her, coming from muggle parents and all. "If you think that this is grand, then maybe one day I'll show you Malfoy manor. It's makes this place look like a pile of rubbish."

Hermione snorted this time. "I don't think you'll be showing me much of that place anytime soon, Malfoy. I'll be waiting for that tour though, for the time that you can go back to your home." She turned to give him a meaningful look.

Blaise cleared his thought as he sat on one of the overstuffed chairs.

"If you two are done picking at each other, I think that it's time that we got down to business and started discussing what we know, and figuring out how to get more information than I can provide." He motioned for them to join him.

Hermione chose to sit in a chair that was next to Blaise, but across from Draco. She wanted to kick herself for showing him how un-cultured she was in his world. She didn't like feeling this way. Bugger. She didn't know what he thought of her now, but it probably wasn't good. For all that she was the brightest witch in their year, she was still just a child of normal parents, not used to this world. At least not fully.

Chiding herself silently, Hermione made herself pay attention to what Blaise and Draco were discussing. It seemed that they were talking about who they might be able to get information out of, with Blaise playing the double agent.

Blaise was saying that he could gather the information, and bring it to them. They in turn could connect the lines between the bits of information, and pass it off to the people that would be better able to see what they could do with it. He also wanted to take some information back to the Death Eaters, bad information of course, with just a few bits of the truth to make the rest of it credible.

That way they could not only gather more information from people who were once happy with the side that they chose to support, but also get more people to switch sides and gather even more information.

It was a solid plan, but it had a lot of variables.

"This is going to be very dangerous for all involved. How are we going to make sure that the people who join us are trustworthy?" Hermione asked. "I mean, I know that I can trust the two of you, and the others that are part of the circle, but those that decide to join us and gather information? It's going to be difficult enough to figure out what information we get is good and what is bad."

Draco nodded and leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees. "It's been something that I've been thinking about to, Hermione. I think that I once read about something called a Blood Oath. If I remember correctly, the Blood Oath is a spell that if the person who swears the Blood Oath, if they break their oath, they end up dying because of the blood in their veins start boiling." He leaned back with a look on his face that he found this distasteful and continued, "I want to do some more research on this, and see if there is a way that we can… alter it, but I think that would be our best bet. We would have to tell the people that we get to swear the oath of what would happen to them. And the more that word got out about it, the more people would bring us good information without us worrying about whether or not the people who are bringing us information might be assassins waiting for their chance to dispose of one of us."

Blaise was nodding at this, but Hermione was stunned. "We can't ask people to swear an oath that will kill them if they break it! That isn't something that we do! We aren't Voldemort and his army that arbitrarily kill people!" Hermione stood up and started pacing the floor in front of the fireplace.

"Hermione, calm down!" Draco yelled. He had to raise his voice to be heard over her arguments. He had to admit, they were all rather valid arguments yes, but that was why he had said that he wanted to do research. "If you'll let me continue, that's why I said that I wanted to see if we can alter the spell so that people don't die! I want to see if we can change the spell enough that it would just freeze the person, or keep them from talking about certain things unless they are in our presence. I don't want to kill people anymore than you do!"

Hermione halted her pacing and stood there stunned. She decided to sit back down and collect her thoughts.

_Thank Merlin that he is the way he is. I know that if I had been through what he has, I would want all of them dead._ The voice in her head startled her as much as what Draco had said. Where had that come from?

"Well, that changes things. Do you remember where you had read of this spell? Maybe I can help you with the research?" She tried to calm the thoughts running through her mind.

Blaise spoke up. "I've heard of this spell, I think it is in one of the restricted books in the library. That's a bloody brilliant thought though, Draco. Why hasn't anyone in the Death Eaters thought of it?" He looked eager about this spell.

"I think that it's been a lost spell for a long time. The tome that I found it in was almost crumbling from age, and that was the only place that I'd ever found a mention about it. It's an old spell, much like the one that Potter's mother used to protect him from Voldemort. If you remember, a lot of things where lost during the Goblin Wars. I think that this is one of them." Draco was leaning forward again.

Hermione looked at the two of them. It was clear to her that the two of them were good friends. And she could understand why.


End file.
